WEDNESDAY, OCT. 28
KMFDM Strap on your ear goggles and lace up your lipstick-red Doc Martens: KMFDM is back! (Again?) Yes, the kinda-sorta-legendary (or just long-running?) industrial pranksters (whose name, in fact, is unfortunately not an acronym for Kill Mother Fucking Depeche Mode, as was the story back in the day) are once again on the road, playing songs from their vast (and vastly similar) back catalog to the delight of young and old everywhere. It remains to be seen, however, how the recent ban on clove cigarettes will affect the turnout. With Angelspit, who sound stupid. The Fillmore Charlotte (Timothy C. Davis)
The Bomb Featuring punk icon Jeff Pezzati (Naked Raygun) and other veterans of the Chicago scene, The Bomb spews melodic punk stoked with Pezzati's toned and aged vocals. The lads are touring behind the freshly released record Speed is Everything, where dashes of guitar distortion wrassle with three-chord riffs backed up by a wall of rat-a-tat drumming. With Git Some and Prize Country. Milestone (Samir Shukla)
Jewel The melodic voice of multi-platinum singer and composer Jewel will serenade Charlotte with songs from her new album, Lullaby. The childlike melodies are sure to sooth and relax the city with songs such as "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Question is, will the songstress light up the Knight Theater or strum it to sleep? Knight Theater (Nicole Pietrantonio)
THURSDAY, OCT. 29
Steve Morse Band Launching his love of the guitar with the fusion rock band the Dixie Dregs in the '70s, Morse has since recorded numerous albums and appeared on umpteen recordings. His instrumental rock has detoured into jazz, fusion and semi-classical alleys where no words or vocalists are needed. Morse is a guitar master, whether you like his style or not, and has a loyal following, but lamentably he has never become a household guitar god. The band's new record Out Standing in Their Field is due to be released in a couple of weeks. With David Jacob-Strain. Neighborhood Theatre (Shukla)
An Albatross These noisemongers concoct and experiment with shards of guitars, along with funky dance beats, organs and a maniacal screaming vocalist. Call it nouveau psychedelic hell-bent on unraveling boxed-in musical genres. Screamed vocals can become another instrument if done properly. These cats seem to know that and have a sense of timing where the screamo vocals add twisted beauty to it all. With Dark Meat and DJ George Brazil. Snug Harbor (Shukla)
FRIDAY, OCT. 30
Rock-A-Buy For Ty This charity concert and auction will be headlined by the Caleb Davis Band. It's a benefit for Ty Gardner, an unborn child with a tumor on his chest that will require surgery to help him live a healthy life. All proceeds will go to the Gardner family. Among the items being auctioned is a signed guitar from Nickelback. The Fillmore Charlotte (Jeff Hahne)
The Farewell Drifters This Nashville, Tenn., quintet's last'n, Sweet Summer Breeze, was one of the more pleasant bluegrass discs I sonically supped all year. Featuring 12 originals and two covers (including an excellent take on Chris Hillman and Gram Parsons' "Wheels"), the boys fall somewhere in the middle between acts like Chatham County Line and The Avetts. There's definitely a traditional bluegrass element, thanks to the string-band songwriting of guitarist Zach Bevill and mandolinist Joshua Britt. However, there's an undefinable looseness here too, something akin to what Townes Van Zandt was onto when he penned "Blue Ridge Mountains." Well worth the time for folks who don't see why you can't love both Son Volt and Son House equally. With Blue Highway, worth the admission by their lonesome. Visulite Theatre (Davis)
Bill Mallonee & Vigilantes of Love Often overlooked during alt-country's late-'90s heyday, VoL reformed last year and, with the prolific and lyrically gifted Mallonee at the helm, picked up right where they left off delivering sepia-tinged, Byrds-inflected rural rock. Mallonee sounds like a dialed-back, more mournful American version of the Waterboys' Mike Scott, and his songs carry the same searching, spiritual Everyman appeal. With Rebecca Rippy. Sylvia Theater, York (John Schacht)
SATURDAY, OCT. 31
HALLOWEEN There are plenty of shows going on this night – Bums Lie will perform all of Green Day's Dookie at the Visulite, Carnevil is going on at Amos', Sihk or Treat is going on at Tremont ... It'll be scarier if you stay home. (Hahne)
SUNDAY, NOV. 1
Eric Benet When you hear the name Eric Benet, you don't immediately think of music. You think of the guy's ex-wife – actress Halle Berry – and the idiot who was stupid enough to piss on the gift – hell, the HONOR – of seeing her naked every day. And that's just sad because Benet is actually a great singer with a decent catalog of entertaining and melodic soul tunes. Sure he couldn't keep his pants zipped while he was with Halle (who, in all fairness, may be a bat-shit-crazy lady in real life), but, yo ... don't hold that against the dude. Ovens Auditorium (Carlton Hargro)
TUESDAY, NOV. 3
Hymns I considered taking a break this time from pimping the music of these native N.C.-ers (now calling Brooklyn home), but then they released their pimpalicious Appaloosa EP this summer. The five tracks solidify their '60s psych-twang roots (think Kinks/Exile Stones) while expanding into soul and The White Album terrain with such aplomb you wonder if there's any era or style these guys can't make their own. They also deliver the goods live. With Nicole Atkins & the Black Sea, and Stephen Warwick of Secondhand Stories. First night of a two-night Snug Harbor stand. (Schacht)
